Screen for gutters



May 10, 1949..

J. H. OURS SCREEN FOR GUTTERS Filed May 12, 1947 INVENTOR (707172 7-! Ours,

BY w Patented May 10, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SCREEN FOR GUTTERS John H. Ours, Arlington, Va. Application May 12, 1947, Serial No. 747,438

3 Claims.

1 This invention relates to screens for gutters. It has for its object to provide a simple and economical screen adapted to prevent leaves, twigs and other trash from getting into the rain gutters and downspouts of buildings.

Further, it provides a device of this character,

provided with means for actuating it from the ground insuch fashion that leaves and twigs may be shaken loose therefrom and thereafter discharged to the ground without the necessity of any person going upon the roof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character so constructed. as to adapt it to be easily and quickly applied to gutters of many different forms and to roofs of widely varying pitches and in such manner that the screen will not form a dam to back water up under the shingles of the roof to which it is applied.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a gutter screen adapted to be readily shaped, on the job, to fit the particular conditions encountered.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a screen section constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view through a conventional half round gutter having the screen applied thereto and;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the bottom bar, at the free edge of the screen, showing the manner of its contact with the roof. 1

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawing.

Referring now to Fig. 1, 5 designates a screen unit. This unit comprises an elongated, relatively narrow web of reticulated metal 6. I preferably employ what is widely used as reinforcing in cement work and is commonly known as expanded metal. This material has, in the use to which I put it, several very important functional advantages, which are wholly outside of its usual field and are peculiar to the field of gutter screens, in which field I believe that I am the first to use it. These advantages will be hereinafter set forth.

The outer longitudinal edge of the metal web 6 has a bar 1 welded to its underside, this bar serving to stiffen the web and to provide means by which the web may be hingedly connected along its outer edge to the outer edge of the gutter 8. This may be a conventional half round gutter or any other shape of gutter. The roof boards are indicated at [0 and the shingles of the roof at i l.

The rod 1 is engaged by clamps l2, said clamps being secured by rivets, screws, bolts or other conventional fastenings IE, to the gutter 8.

The clamps serve, along with bar I to hingedly mount the outer edge of the web upon the outer edge of the gutter. A crank arm I l projects outwardly beyond the point of hinging and an inward extension [4a of this arm is welded or otherwise rigidly secured to web 6. The crank arm M has an eye Mb at its outer end in which there may be engaged any suitable operating element such as a chain indicated at IE or a hook upon a rod (not shown). The object of providing the crank arm as shown is to render it possible by pulling upon the chain I5, to rock the web it upwardly and outwardly to thereby discharge any accumulated leaves and twigs from the screen, provided by said web, without any person having to go upon the roof to accomplish that result.

The upward movement of the screen is against the tension of a spring [6, the upper end of which is attached to the screen or to the extension Ma and the lower end of which is attached to the gutter.

By referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the inner edge of web 6 is a free edge. That is, it carries no bar corresponding to bar I but upon the contrary it is the edge of the web I itself which contacts the roof. By using expanded metal as described and by making the inner edge a free edge I am able to bend said edge downwardly as indicated at 6a and to make the extreme lower edge of this downwardly bent portion the contacting edge of the screen with the roof.

The following important advantages flow from this arrangement, to wit:

1. The expanded metal requires no separate frame to carry it. It is stifi enough to carry its own weight. Great economy in construction results.

2. The shape of the reticulated metal is such that its free edge may be bent, on the job, to lie at just the right angle with respect to the remainder of the web as to give the proper fit of the screen to the particular roof being worked upon.

3. The lower edge of the screen which contacts the roof does not present a straight member such as a bar, but presents a zig-zag or wavy member 62). By referring to Fig. 3 it will be seen that such a form of contact yields openings ll between the points of contact l8, with the roof surface I9. These openings provide for the passage of water and insure against rain water being backed up by anything in the nature of a continuous dam. It is to be noted that the bent free edge of the web lies at such a gentle inclination with respect to the roof that leaves, twigs or other trash will easily wash over the same thereby avoiding any accumulation of matter which would constitute a dam.

In addition to returning the screen to the position of Fig. 2 the spring 16 aids in dislodging leaves and twigs from the screen. By pulling upon chain 15 and then quickly releasing the same the springwill cause the screen to snap-back quickly and strike the roof a sharp blow. This will aid in dislodging leaves and twigs aftera storm and before the leaves have dried and hardened upon the screen. To make itpossible" to manipulate the screens without difiiculty they are applied in sections of substantially the fornroi Fig. 1. There will be as many of these sections as may be necessary to cover the length of the gutter to be protected.

The device of the present invention may be cheaply made, will save'the .damageand cost arising from clogged. gutters and down-spouts, ice and snow damage and,v which is most important, will make it unnecessary for a person to go upon the roof to clean out the gutter. 'The-cleaning out of gutters is a task of such nature that the average householder hesitates to'callin a workman for so small a job. However it isa' task which may be a dangerous one. In the first place the average householder does. not have a ladder;,

long enough to reach to the roof. Consequently ,many people climbout of upstairs-windows to reach the roof. With no'ladder to hold :on. to they may easily fall from the roof when leaning over the gutter.

I attach considerable importance to the iact that my screen comprises a web of reticulated material the inner edge of which is a'free. edge which rests npon the roof and is of no greater stiffness than the body of the web itself. "That means that it is sufficiently bendable. both longitudinally and vertically to adaptitto yieldthe most efiicient fitting of the screen on the job to the job. By bending this inner edgevertically as shown in Fig. 2 the screen may be adjusted to the proper angle to receive debris washed from roofs of varying pitch, while by bending the, contact lower edge along its lengthsaid edge maybe caused to conform to sags in the roof 'and'to closely hug the roof at all points of contact. The described arrangement also causes iceto-ride: over the screen instead of piling up in the gutter.

1. In combination a screen comprising a long and narrow web of reticulated material, means for hingedly connecting the outer edge of said .web: to argutter; said-Web. having its inner edge free and bendable and the innermost member of said web being of wavy formation and a rod rigidly afiixed to said web along its outer edge, :which-rod constitutes an element of the means for hinging the web to the gutter, a crank arm connected to the screen and extending outward- 1y beyOndthe gutter, downward pull upon the crank arm swinging the screen upwardly and outwardly upon its hinge on the gutter edge.

2. In combination .a drainage gutter for a building,- a screen for the same comprising a, relatively long and narrow web of expanded metaha rod extendin along'the outer edge of and beneath said weband rigidly aflixed thereto,:the inner edge of said web being free and downwardly inclined with. respect tothe remainder of: the web, the web being of such width as to project over the'roof ofthe building with which the gutter is associatedand to have its-lower edge rest freely upon the surface of said roof; said expanded metal presentingawavy. edge at,v its point of contact withthe-roof, elements carried by the gutter, and engaging said rod for hingedly mountingthe web along thegutter and a crank armaccessible from the ground, by which the web may be rocked .uDWard-ly and outwardly upon said hinge mounting.

3. A structureas recited in claim2 in combination with a spring, mounted to pull the free edge of theweb toward the roof.

JOHN H. OURS.

REFERENCES CITED The; followingreferences are of record in: the file ofthiszpatentr UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 753,660 ,Boyer Mar. 1, 1904 2,175,138 Westlake Oct. 3, 1939 2,423,923 Audino July-15, 1947 

